Gary Ray
Dr. Gary Ray is a founding member of the Island Green Living Association (IGLA). He holds three degrees in the biological and environmental sciences. His Bachelor’s Degree is in Botany from the University of Maryland – College Park. He holds a Master’s in Botany from the University of Montana. His Ph.D. in Environmental Science is from the Institute for Environmental Studies – Land Resources Program at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1993. His study concentration was the field of Restoration Ecology as applied to Caribbean Dry Forests. Ray’s dissertation research was conducted on St. John, comparing various techniques for restoring degraded sites to high-diversity native forest communities.
As a biology professor, Ray taught 10 different courses in biology, botany, ecology and general science at the University of the Virgin Islands for about nine years. He has conducted more than 30 biological surveys on all main islands of the VI, and he has served on the Waste Management Authority’s Citizens Advisory Committee. Currently he is restoring a disturbed dry forest on the north shore of St. John.
Ray has two children, Alex and Amelia.